Michael Rooker was born in 1955 in Jasper, Alabama. When he was 13, his parents divorced and he went with his mother to live in Chicago. He caught the acting bug while attending college, and began appearing in local stage productions.

On first breaking into film, Rooker’s intensity and “don’t-mess-with-me” good looks were highlighted to chilling effect as the title character in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, filmed in 1986 but due to its controversial nature, not released until 1990. Since that widely noticed and highly praised performance, much of his career has been spent playing brutes, villains and psychopaths. His occasional turns as a “good guy”, however, are always well-acted and a welcome change for a talented actor too often typecast.

Rooker was cast as Merle Dixon in AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead, a role that earned him a large and loyal fanbase all over the world. Shortly after filming Season 3 was completed, he added his voice talents to Activision’s video game The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. In addition to the variety of film and television roles, Rooker has done voiceover work for many popular video games, including Mike Harper in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and the villain Vikke in Lollipop Chainsaw.

Rooker was cast as Yondu in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by long-time friend/partner in crime, James Gunn. He also appeared in the sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

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